I'm looking for a way to end the life of a leprechaun. I'd like an answer with roots in folklore, but highly controversial theories, things you saw in movies, WAGs, or any dreams you had once after eating bad rigatoni will also be accepted, if it just explains how to kill one of the damn things.

I can't imagine why you'd want to kill one of the little buggers - I thought they were classified as "catch and release" years ago. If they're considered an endangered species, you could end up in big trouble - or pay a big fine, at least. However, that won't stop me from tossing out a few ideas:

Guess his name.
Out-dance him.
Find a talking fish who will grant you 3 wishes and use one to snuff the leprechaun.
Drop a house on him.
Quit believing in him.

Cold iron is your best bet. Carry a staff of ash shod with iron and wear a garland of rowan berries. The ash and berries will help protect you from his magick--the little gold-rats pack quite a punch. Carry fresh St. John's Wart to poultice any injuries he may deal you--it's a specific against wounds caused by the Folk. Four-leaf clovers mashed into a paste with holy water and applied to the eyelids is said to prevent their illusions from deceiving you.

Make sure you're after a real leprechaun; if you tackle a cluricaune by mistake, you'd better have an eye that sees no evil, the grip of a lobsterman, and the luck of the Devil himself to deal with the drunken bastard. And cold iron to administer the finishing blow.

I'll agree with those who've said cold iron as most myth's say the fairie had no like for it, though it must be pointed out that some beliefs held that They could withstand most iron but that it caused them great discomfort.

These legends held that only Silver could truly banish the Faerie from this world as Silver was the metal of the moon.

And yes before anyone posts I'm aware of the popular association of werewolves and silver, but my readings lead me to believe this superstition well and truly predated the werewolf theory.

IIRC, some legends say that the Folk revered silver because it was moon-metal, and they worshipped (more or less) a moon goddess. I don't think silver would give them much trouble. The belief in the power of cold iron, OTOH, still lingers in such notions as the lucky horshoe over the door; I think that its original purpose was to prevent malicious fairies from entering the house (the irony makes me laugh every time I see a Lucky Charms ad). Also, there's no indication that most of the Folk can't be killed with any judicious application of positive entropy. A good clubbing with a stout stick would probably do most of 'em in--though I'd never dare try it on a Fir Darrig, and I'd want heavy armor (as in TANKS, not plate) before I tackled a Redcap.

Further notes on the cluricaune:
The cluricaune can be distinguished from the leprechaun by an aroma of alcohol. If you catch him, he'll grant the standard 3 wishes. You will be tempted, so think about this: Do you really want to risk getting 3 wishes from a pissed-off, drunken fairie?

May I point out that silver is only particularly harmful to evil supernatural creatures-- Against a creature that's merely mischevious, it probably wouldn't do much except possibly help protect against their magic. Just remember, too... If you try something and it doesn't work, it'll just piss him or them off, and let me tell you, the one thing worse than a leprechaun is a pissed off leprechaun.

__________________
Time travels in divers paces with divers persons.
--As You Like It, III:ii:328

Well, this is just what I've heard about the movie (Leprechaun), but in the first one I believe a four-leaf clover was the way they finally defeated the leprechaun. One guy wrapped it around a piece of gum and shot it in his mouth, and I do believe he exploded. In 2 and 3 I seem to remember them either tricking the Leprechaun or using silver, or just blowing him up. I mean, that's what I've heard, from a friend. I don't know about Leprechaun 4: In Da Hood with Ice Tea (I swear, I saw it for sale). That's even worse than Leprechaun 3: In Space.

__________________"Anyone who has seen her smile knows perfection. She creates grace without movement, and makes all divinity fit into her slightest gesture."--Edmond Rostand

Although not supported by folklore, I'm pretty sure that tossing the little bastard into molten lava would do the trick. I've always thought that this would work for vampires and werewolves as well, but have not had the opportunity to test this theory.

Calling on St Patrick can drive the little buggers away. A good exorcism would be deadly. Most of those types cannot stand to hear the name of Christ, but it just drives them away, doesn't kill them. But, why would you WANT to kill one?

I haven't seen any of the movies, but in the Irish fairy tale literature, leprechauns are generally rather shy and spend most of their time trying to get away from YOU. All you have to do to get rid of one is to take your eyes off him for a moment, and poof! he's outta there.

But of course, it would be silly to expect Hollywood not to tinker with something as simple as this by not adding exploding bubble gum and flying body parts.

(I haven't seen any of them because I feel sorry that that's the only work that Warwick Davis can find. I suppose I ought to support him with my entertainment dollars, but apparently he doesn't need me to keep the wolf from his door, so...)

Originally posted by Lance Turbo Although not supported by folklore, I'm pretty sure that tossing the little bastard into molten lava would do the trick. I've always thought that this would work for vampires and werewolves as well, but have not had the opportunity to test this theory.

Most vampires burn quite well (not speaking from personal experience, honest, erm...) & since silver is an element mined from the earth, it is possible that there might be some molten silver in the lava, so it might get the werewolf too! But if there isn't, expect a very hot, very angry (they can get worse?!) werewolf when he/she/it climbs out to come after you & experiment on the best way to kill a human!

__________________The UnaBoard
I intend to have a good time on this planet for as long as possible...and I'll be damned if any apocalypse is gonna get in my way!!!

On a more general level, I'm just interested in knowing how to kill things that are more powerful than me.

(OK, seriously? I have a webpage I'm working on about my imaginary evil empire. On my list of enemies I have the leprechauns. So for an update I'm hoping to have found a way to kill them. Sadly, as an evil emperor, calling on God is probably not going to work for me. As I said, I'll be putting the webpage on the internet as soon as I can get to a zip drive, at which point this'll make more sense.)

Strap his short ass to a chair Clockwork Orange style and make his little irish butt watch all those wretched leprechaun movies, sequels and all. If the little green bugger doesn't implode or commit mini-suicide just accept the fact that they're indestructible and try to get him off your enemy list.

__________________
He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man.